Heartfelt thank you from library

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I offer our sincere gratitude for the tireless effort, passion, creativity, dollars and gifts of time given by Oliver Wolcott Library’s devoted volunteers, and our incredibly generous supporters, at the annual Festival of Trees fundraiser, held last Saturday night.

After more than 15 years of involvement with the festival event, I am still awestruck to see how our community turns out in support of our town’s principal public library. All proceeds from the event benefit OWL, and the funds raised on this one special night allow OWL to offer each and every library event and program, free-of-charge, for the remaining 364 days of the year.

Did you know? Every day, nearly 250 people visit our library, and more than 400 items are borrowed from OWL. Through innovative services, informative and enlightening materials, and engaging discussions and events, OWL enriches the lives of our community members, from babies to elders, every single day. In fact, the numbers show how much our community values its library….out of more than 190 libraries in our Connecticut, OWL ranks third in the state for adult circulation per capita!

Organizing an event like the Festival of Trees takes tremendous energy and dedication. Planning began in March, and more than 50 volunteers helped make the festival a success. Thanks is not enough for the efforts of our exceptional festival leadership team including this year’s festival chair Colette Boyd, sponsorship co-chairs Cara Blazier and Carole Gibney, silent and live auction chair Kyra Harnett, tree and wreath Chair Megan Kowalchick, program advertising Maura Malo, decorations chair Marla Patterson, bar chair Egils Bogdanovics, and lighting and sound chair Robertson Hartnett — in addition to all of the many capable and dedicated committee members!

Thanks must also go to all of our friends, neighbors, businesses and community members who supported Festival through sponsorships, gifts, and attendance. We are truly grateful to each of you for making OWL such a vibrant, special community resource.

Thank you for loving your library!